Transcript

00:00:02

>> US scientists, on Wednesday, reporting that temperatures on Earth hit a record high for the third year in a row in 2016. A worrying trend that could be a wakeup call for global warming skeptics. The findings come just days ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration. The President elect has suggested global warming is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese, has threatened to cancel the Paris Agreement to cut Greenhouse emissions, and has promised to ease regulations on domestic coal, oil, and gas.

00:00:33

The reports from two leading US agencies coinciding with a confirmation hearing Wednesday for Trump's pick to head the EPA, Scott Pruitt, a climate change skeptic with ties to the energy industry.>> Science tells us that the climate is changing, and then human activity in some manner impacts that change.

00:00:51

The ability to measure with precision the degree and extent of that impact, and what to do about it, are subject to continued debate and dialogue, and well it should be.>> The rising temperature in 2016, mainly driven by higher levels of man made greenhouse gases. The natural El Nino effect also playing a role, releasing heat from the Pacific Ocean last year.

00:01:12

Among the places feeling the heat, North America had its warmest year on record with wildfires in Alberta, the costliest natural disaster in Canada's history. While Phalodi, in West India, recorded a temperature of 123.8 degrees Fahrenheit in May, a national record.